The Summation Weekly Jan. 20, 2016

Page 1

Summati n Weekly

USPS Publication Number 16300

THE

T h i s C o m mu n i t y N ew s p a p e r is a publication of Escambia / Santa Rosa Bar Association

Section A, Page 1

Vol. 16, No. 03

Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com

January 20, 2016

1 Section, 8 Pages

Mentoring Pensacola By Dawn Gresko Mentor Pensacola: Pensacola Young Professionals The professional development team of Pensacola Young Professionals (PYP) launched its Mentor Pensacola program in October of 2015, a new program that offers its members (between the ages of 18 and 40) the opportunity to be “paired” with a community leader who will help mold and influence the area’s up-and-coming young professionals. In this one-onone mentorship, mentors will aid their mentees in refining a career path by helping them set long-term professional goals, and providing opportunities to network with other leaders in our community to encourage professional and personal growth, as well as promoting a strong workforce in the Pensacola Bay area. Mentors come from various fields, including nonprofit and corporate leaders, business owners and more. The program requires that mentors not only be an influential force in the community, but in their respective fields, as well. The first iteration of the program will run until Sept. 30, 2016. For the 2015-2016 year, the program has a total of 17 mentor-mentee pairings, and the first iteration of the program will run until Sept. 30, 2016. The feedback from mentees has been wholly positive so far, and the mentoring program looks forward to seeing how the pairings grow for the remainder of the session. To measure the program’s success, the professional development team conducts monthly surveys with mentors and mentees every month, maintains frequent email communication to check on satisfaction and progression of the program, and offers occasional events for pairings to mingle with other participants and share practices. At the end of the year a survey will be conducted in September to gauge how the program has helped both mentors and mentees. Pensacola Girls on the Run Girls on the Run is an international mentoring program for girls between the ages of 8 and 12, which aims to promote character development and uses running, as well as an engaging curriculum, as tools to teach the lessons that develop a girl’s sense of confidence and selfesteem. Essentially the program uses creative physical activity and teamwork to inspire an appreciation of fitness and build habits that translate into a lifetime of health. Mentors are called “coaches” who sign up to go on-site to schools, community spaces and/or churches twice a week for 90 minute sessions for a 12 week season. All coaches must receive initial training (followed by on-going training throughout their time as a coach) and certification before they are matched. The curriculum consists of 20 lessons and exercises that focus on building the girls’ communication skills, healthy relationships and self-esteem. The program will work on building the “Five Cs”: competence, confidence, care, compassion, connections and contributions to community. Girls on the Run

Photo by Brian Ujiie

aims for the “Gold Standard,” which means improving attitude (positive feelings toward oneself others and school, behavioral adjustment (lower instances of risk-taking and negative behaviors) and school performance (improving grades and academic involvement). In addition to mental, emotional and physical health, the Girls on the Run of Northwest Florida aims to help increase the high school graduation rate across Escambia, Ookaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, which is at 66.1 percent—over 10 percent below Florida’s state average of 76.1 percent. Although the Junior League of Pensacola has provided initial funding and the capital investment in order to bring Girls on the Run to Northwest Florida, to keep the program operating there is a registration fee of $150 per girl, which covers expenses for healthy snacks, t-shirts, shoes, and a 5K medal. Each season culminates in a celebratory 5K Run and each girl has a running buddy (a “Solemate”) to the complete the 5K with her. The inaugural season of Girls on the Run in Northwest Florida will kick off on Jan. 30, 2016, after the program’s Board of Directors hosts its first coach training. UWF Executive Mentor Program For its fourth year, the Executive Mentor Program at the University of West Florida will help prepare students for successful careers in business by integrating academic learning with real-world experiences. Undergraduate and graduate students at UWF are partnered with Pensacola business executives to establish connections in the business world and gain valuable insights into issues such as career choice, networking skills and career development. The Executive Mentor Program helps prepare students for successful careers in business by integrating academic learning with real-world experiences. Undergraduate and graduate students are partnered with business executives to establish connections in the business world and gain valuable insights into issues such as career

choice, networking skills, and career development. Mentors are business executives who must meet with mentees at least once per month throughout the academic year, September through May. The mentoring is primarily one-on-one coaching (one business executive matched with one student) for an academic school year. Once a month, on average, the Executive Mentor Program hosts Networking Meet & Greet events or brings in guest speakers for Lectures, Seminars, and Workshops. Although these initiatives are sponsored by the College of Business, most are open to everyone. On average, 50 mentors are matched with 50 mentees each year. The program tracks UWF graduates that participated in the Executive Mentor Program, and the percentage of those who have secured jobs in their field upon graduation is an impressive 97 percent. Another component of the program’s annual research involves an end-of-year evaluation survey, based on a 7-point scale answer system, measuring how well the mentors are coaching their mentees, and whether or not the student mentee’s skills have improved. As for funding, the program relies heavily on its volunteers, as well as some local businesses that provide financial gifts through the UWF Foundation. Examples include Wells Fargo’s support of a lecture series, Pen Air Federal Credit Union’s support of a financial bootcamp, or Gulf Coast Community Bank’s support of networking event. Goodwill Easter Seals Goodguides Goodwill Easter Seals Goodguides has been operating for three years in the Pensacola, Fort Walton, Mobile and Spanish Fort areas. As the name of the mentoring program might imply, the purpose of the program is to “guide” at-risk youths from ages 12 to 17 away from destructive behavior through constructive activities ranging from making art to visiting museums and historic landmarks, such as the Naval Aviation Musuem and Pensacola

Lighthouse. The program offers site-based, one-on-one, group and peer mentoring opportunities and for the 2015-2016 year the program had 140 youths enrolled, and 101 volunteer mentors. All mentors must pass an orientation and training class, followed by an extensive background check and interviewing process. For a minimum of one year, all mentors are required to spend at least four hours per month with a mentee. Last year, 126 youth had reported satisfaction with the program’s services, and also reported behavioral improvement at home and in school. Each year, 100 youth completing four hours of mentoring per month and an average of 73 youth complete at least 12 months of mentoring per year. In addition to four hours dedicated to mentoring per month, mentees receive two hours of career exploration on a monthly basis, as well. The Department of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Office provides an annual grant to help fund the program, otherwise Goodguides receives the majority of its funding from an allocation provided by the Goodwill Easter Seals retail branch. Escambia County School District’s Youth Motivator Mentoring Program
 For 22 years, the Youth Motivator Mentoring Program of the Escambia County School District has matched a volunteer mentor one-onone with an identified student who needs encouragement to do better in over 49 schools in the district. This program provides a structured framework for mentoring by individual community volunteers, as well as government agencies and businesses that allow release time for employees to mentor at a school or they can mentor one day a week on their lunch break. Mentors must be willing to commit to weekly meetings with their youths. Last year, the program has over 530 mentors. Although one aspect of being a mentor is helping a student with his or her school work, many mentors become a supportive

presence who will listen, talk, encourage, motivate and help a child set goals. This program is offered to students of all grades from elementary through high school. In addition to a thorough background screening process, prospective mentors must study a special mentoring handbook and complete a training session before they are accepted into the program. University of West Florida and Pensacola State College students who are Quint Scholars, or have Quint Studer scholarships, must give back to the community by donating volunteer time to the Youth Motivator mentoring program, at least 25 hours a year. Penelope Harris developed a software to monitor the progress of each mentor and mentee pairing; mentor coordinators are at every school to gather data. Pam Childers, Navy Federal and more local organizations have helped donate time and resources to the program. Re-Entry Alliance of Pensacola (REAP) Mentoring Program What sets the Re-Entry Alliance of Pensacola (REAP) Mentoring Program apart from other programs in the area is how it aims to help previously incarcerated individuals, rather than at-risk youths, or young professionals looking for guidance in their respective fields. The primary goal of REAP mentors is to aid “mentees” with their initial re-entry into “real world.” In addition to receiving funding from the Department of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Office, the program received an Impact 100 grant of $50,000 to help over 30 individuals. There is a correlation between successfully staying out of prison and having a “mentor” to help previously incarcerated individuals adapt to society—helping with resumes, job finding, and so on. Judge M. Casey Rodgers introduced the idea for the program to federal court in Pensacola four years ago. Since then, the REAP program has expanded its See Mentoring on page 3


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